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Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
Amari Cooper is, for the most part, exactly what the Buffalo Bills needed. So the match made sense, even with the Bills giving the Browns a third-rounder and seventh-rounder in exchange for Cooper and a sixth-rounder on Tuesday.
Cooper is a poor man’s Stefon Diggs.
From a contract standpoint, it’s quite literal: Cooper is set to make almost nothing, just $870,000 while with the cap-strapped Bills in 2024. So while he was expensive in terms of trade/draft compensation, he’s cheap by the dollar. He’s also a perimeter receiver with excellent technique and separation abilities who can beat both man and zone coverage consistently.
Or — he was. That’s why I said he’s what the Bills needed … for the most part.
If you look at the advanced statistics, you’ll see that the 30-year-old Cooper isn’t as good a player as last year. In 2023, he recorded career-bests with 1,250 receiving yards and 259 receiving yards over expected, per Next Gen Stats. His YAC over expected was 113, the second best of his career. His separation was his worst: 2.2 yards per route targeted. But Cooper didn’t seem to have slowed. If anything, he was likely facing a lot of double coverage.
In 2024, it’s easy to see why he’s having one of his worst years: Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is the falling tide that sinks all ships. And so Cooper is recording fairly awful numbers, with a negative receiving EPA (-.85), negative receptions over expected (-8.2) and negative receiving yards over expected (-174). The numbers are either comparable to or worse than his rookie season.
The Bills need to hope that Cooper isn’t declining, that those numbers are merely a reflection of Watson. That’s where the risk comes into play for Buffalo. And that’s probably why Cleveland was willing to part ways with the wideout.
But the truth should emerge quickly. Buffalo will put him right to work.
The Bills offense needs help, particularly in…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/what-trading-browns-wr-amari-cooper-means-josh-allen-bills
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Publish date : 2024-10-15 20:01:07
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